Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, or after breakfast at your hotel, you will be met by our guide and begin your journey to Kibale Forest via the Katuna border crossing.
Before departing Kigali, you will enjoy a brief city tour, including visits to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the bustling central markets, and a selection of artisan shops for souvenir shopping.
The drive offers picturesque views of Rwanda’s rolling hills, with a stop for lunch en route. Upon arrival in Kibale Forest, you will check in at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
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After an early breakfast, you will meet your driver-guide and proceed to the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre for a briefing on chimpanzee tracking. The park rangers will provide information about Kibale Forest, its wildlife, the different chimpanzee communities, and the guidelines for observing these primates in their natural habitat. Chimpanzees share about 98% of their DNA with humans, making this encounter especially remarkable.
During the trek, you may also encounter other primates such as L’Hoest’s monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus, and grey-cheeked mangabeys, as well as nocturnal species like bush babies and pottos. Bird enthusiasts may spot species such as the green-breasted pitta, crowned eagle, and black bee-eater.
The trek usually lasts between 3 and 5 hours, depending on the location of the chimpanzees and their movements. Once you locate them, you will spend up to one hour observing their activities—caring for their young, feeding, and swinging between the trees. Photography is permitted, allowing you to capture these memorable moments.
Afterwards, you will return to the park headquarters and rejoin your guide for the drive back to the lodge, where lunch will be served. In the afternoon, you will set off on a two-hour journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
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After an early breakfast, you will head to the Kasenyi Plains for a morning game drive. This is the best time to spot early risers before they retreat from hunting. Look out for leopards, lions, and hippos returning from their nightly grazing, as well as a variety of bird species. The plains are also home to buffaloes, gazelles, hartebeests, and several species of antelope. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch and some time to rest.
In the afternoon, you will enjoy a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, the natural waterway that links Lake Edward and Lake George. The channel is famous for hosting the largest concentration of hippos in Uganda, as well as Nile crocodiles, herds of buffaloes, and elephants gathering to drink at the shores. Bird enthusiasts will also appreciate the abundance of species, including herons and the striking crested crane.
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After breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and begin your journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. En route, you will enjoy a game drive through the Ishasha Sector, which is renowned for its rare tree-climbing lions, often seen resting in the branches of fig trees.
With your packed lunch, you will continue the drive to Bwindi Forest, arriving in the late afternoon. Upon arrival, you will check in at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
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After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the park offices for a briefing on gorilla trekking. After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the park offices for a briefing on gorilla trekking. The rangers will provide essential information about mountain gorillas, the trekking experience, and the appropriate behavior to observe while in their presence. In groups of up to eight people, you will be assigned a gorilla family to track before setting off into the forest. The trek typically lasts between 2 and 6 hours, depending on the gorillas’ movements and where they spent the previous night.
Once located, you will be allowed one hour with the gorillas—observing them as they play, feed, and groom one another, while also taking photographs to capture the moment. After the trek, you will return to the lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon, you will check out and begin your journey back to Kigali, where you will be dropped off either at the airport or at your hotel.
Accommodation Options (if you would like to stay in Kigali):
